Hibiscus

Hibiscus was her mother’s beauty,

Well, she and her sister Charr.

The birth of a new litter in Lysic’s kingdom was nothing new - but as the king himself had grown markedly crueler with age, the survival of even one cub became a matter of much significance. For every bit of strength he gained and every scrap of land he conquered, he grew all the more critical. The cubs had dull fur, weak limbs, wanting potential - and scarcely before they could leave their mother’s bellies, they were carelessly, wantonly gathered within his jaws and disposed of at the Giving Tree - if they were lucky. The unlucky were tossed into the heart of the wilderness, or worse - crushed within their king’s jaws.

But not Hibiscus. Not her sister, Charr. The day they were born, their mother Anjeer was aglow with pride. She had scarcely survived her father’s wrath, knowing full well he permitted her live strictly due to the rarity of her opulent red coat - but now, she had delivered a litter of two that cemented her place in the pride. Two cubs, two daughters, the loveliest they’d ever seen.

Hibiscus had a coat unlike they’d ever seen, as soft and plush and pink and lotus blossoms - and as she grew, her coat grew with her - the envy of all that beheld it. And while as a young adolescent, she was a diligent scholar, as she matured into the lioness that’d lead the future of this clan, she developed a flair for the fantastical, the playful, and mischievous. She adorned herself with the bones of the meekest of her pray and lounged alongside the springtime pools, awaiting the day the elders of the pride finally passed on so that she could usher in a new golden era.